Health and social care strategy for older people: consultation

3. Wider Context

Independent Review of Adult Social Care and the National Care Service.

3.1 The new strategy must take account and be aligned to the recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care which was published in February 2021.

3.2 The Scottish Government pledged to begin the consultation process on a National Care Service (NCS) within the first 100 days of Parliament and to set up a social covenant steering group, including people with living and lived experience of social care. Both of these pledges have been met. The steering group held its first meeting on 20 July 2021 and the consultation on the National Care Service ran from 9 August 2021 until 2 November 2021.

3.3 The consultation on the National Care Service sought views on:

• Improving how care is planned and delivered in practice, including rights to breaks from caring and non-residential care charges;
• The role and remit of the National Care Service;
• What might be included in the scope of the National Care Service;
• The reform of local health and social care integration;
• Ethical commissioning and improving the commissioning of care across Scotland;
• Improving regulation and scrutiny; and
• Valuing and supporting people who work in social care.

3.4 The Scottish Government published the analysis of the consultation in February 2022 https://consult.gov.scot/ and responses from that consultation will inform this strategy, where appropriate.

A Fairer Scotland for Older People – A Framework for Action

3.5 Published in 2019, A Fairer Scotland for Older People – A Framework for Actionwas developed to challenge the inequalities that older people faced as they age and to celebrate older people in Scotland.

3.6 The result of an engagement process with older people (defined as 50 years and over) across Scotland through the involvement of many organisations that support them, they identified the issues that were key to ensuring people are healthy, happy and secure in older age.

3.7 The Framework identified 56 actions, with 20 of these focussed on the provision of health and social care services. An update on framework actions to support A Fairer Scotland for Older People was published in June 2021.

3.8 The new health and social care strategy for older people will sit alongside A Fairer Scotland for Older People – A Framework for Action and will build upon the actions to improve health and social care services.